Siemens Drops Nuclear Power

Posted on Sep 18, 2011

The German conglomerate is getting out of the nuclear power business. Siemens built every one of Germany’s existing nuclear power plants, all of which were scheduled to be shuttered by 2022 following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi meltdown.

The company’s chief executive, quoted by the BBC, told Der Spiegel magazine “the clear positioning of German society and politics for a pullout from nuclear energy” contributed to the decision.

According to the BBC, Siemens was altogether not that active in nuclear energy, though the conglomerate was engaged in a joint venture with a Russian nuclear firm and, as recently as 2009, described nuclear power as “an essential part of a sustainable energy mix.” —PZS

BBC:

The move is a response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March, chief executive Peter Loescher said.

He told Spiegel magazine it was the firm’s answer to “the clear positioning of German society and politics for a pullout from nuclear energy”.

“The chapter for us is closed,” he said, announcing that the firm will no longer build nuclear power stations.